Plant List Week 04 Flashcards
Callistemon spp.
Common: Bottlebrush
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- colorful flowers that grow in whorls around the stem,
and - flowers that consist mostly of stamens.
Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Common: Red Gum
Family: Red Gum
Look For:
- slender, gray-green leaves that can be straight or curved,
- bark that falls off to show a smooth trunk mottled in shades of white, gray, and black,
- flowers that are white or yellow,
and - seed pods with 4 teeth that project outwards.
Eucalyptus melliodora
Common: Yellow Box
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- provides good firewood, strong timber, and high-quality honey
- bark is variable, but usually yellow-brown, sub-fibrous, and friable
- flowers profusely throughout the summer
Eucalyptus polyanthemos
Common: Silver-Dollar Gum, Red Box
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- medium-sized tree
- juvenile leaves are almost circular, notched at apex, and blue-gray to silver
- flowers in spring and summer
Eucalyptus sideroxylon
Common: Red Ironbark
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- a eucalyptus with a single, fairly straight trunk,
- hard, black bark with deep vertical grooves,
and - foliage that is gray-green with splotches of red and purple.
Eucalyptus viminalis
Common: Ribbon Gum
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- grows very fast and very large
- has a “stocking” of rough bark at the base, and then a smooth trunk above
- often has ribbons of dead bark hanging from branch forks
- branches are very pendulous and hang downwards (“viminalis” means “weeping”)
- the most common food for koalas (although they eat other plants too)
Leptospermum laevigatum
Common: Australian Tea Tree
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- a shrub or small tree with gray-green foliage,
- new stems that are red and sparsely hairy,
- small, obovate leaves with three main veins and a pointed tip,
and - (for a very brief period) white flowers with 5 petals and a well-developed hypanthium.
Myrtus communis
Common: Myrtle
Family: Myrtaceae
Look For:
- Opposite shiny leaves with little or no petiole that taper to a sharp point.
- Blooms in early summer. Flowers are white with many showy stamens.
- Produces a dark blue fruit in the fall.
Brahea armata
Common: Mexican Blue Palm
Family: Arecaeae
Look For:
- a fan palm with distinctive gray-blue foliage,
and - a petiole that’s armored with short, highly variable thorns.
Caryota mitis
Common: Fishtail Palm
Family: Arecaceae
Look For:
- large, arching leaves,
- flat, wedge-shaped leaflets with parallel veins and a jagged edge,
and - a trunk that’s covered with a sandy, brown grit.
Chamaerops humilis
Common: Mediterranean Fan Palm
Family: Arecaceae
Look For:
- one or more trunks growing to about 10 ft high,
- fan-shaped green leaves,
- petiole stumps that come straight out from the trunk without crossing,
and - needle-like spines on the petiole that point out toward the leaf tips.
Pheonix dactylifera
Common: Date Palm
Family: Arecaceae
Look For:
- a tall palm with a single vertical trunk,
- large green leaves that appear at the top of the trunk,
- pinnatifid leaf margins (meaning the leaves are lobed pinnately),
and - leaf portions that end in very sharp spikes.
Trachycarpus fortunei
Common: Windmill Palm
Family: Arecaceae
Look For:
- a shorter palm with a trunk that tends to be narrow at the base
- trunk has a thick carpet of “gorilla fur”
- petiole has little or no armor
Washingtonia filifera
Common: California Fan Palm
Family: Arecaceae
Look For:
- A palm tree with large, palmately lobed leaves,
- a single wide, vertical, and very thick trunk,
and - a canopy of green leaves that spreads fairly wide (for a palm tree).
Washingtonis rubusta
Common: Mexican Fan Palm
Family: Arecaceae
Look For:
- a very tall fan-leaved palm tree,
- a single skinny trunk that can be slightly curved,
and - a small, spherical canopy of leaves with short petioles.
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Common: Giant Sequoia
Family: Taxodiaceae
Look For:
- an evergreen tree with gray-green foliage,
and - small, pointed, scale-like leaves arranged spirally around the stem.
Aptenia ‘Red Apple’
Common: Heart-leaf Iceplant
Family: Aizoaceae
Look For:
- opposite, fleshy leaves with a pointed tip,
- stems that are semicircular in cross-section,
- a spreading or trailing growth pattern,
and - small, bright red flowers with many narrow petals.
Carpobrotus edulis
Common: Freeway Ice Plant
Family: Aizoaceae
Look For:
- a low mat of dense vegetation,
- fleshy leaves (6-10 cm long) that are sharply triangular in cross-section,
and - large flowers (8-10 cm in diameter) that start out yellow and gradually turn pink.
Delopserma cooperi
Common: Hardy Ice plant
Family: Aizoaceae
Look For:
- linear leaves, triangular to round in cross-section, up to 6 cm long,
- lines of tiny gray-green bumps (papillae) on the foliage,
and - showy purple flowers up to 5 cm in diameter.
Lampranthus spectabilis
Common: Purple Flowered Iceplant
Family: Aizoaceae
Look For:
- a sprawling or trailing succulent groundcover,
- stems that are purple and leaves that are gray-green,
and - flowers that are large, colorful, and… purple.
Campsis radicans
Common: Common Trumpet Vine
Family: Bignoniaceae
Look For:
- bright reddish-orange, trumpet-shaped flowers,
- opposite, odd-pinnately compound leaves,
- large, coarse serrations on the leaflet margins,
and - aerial roots along the stem that allow the plant to attach itself to any rough or porous surface as it climbs.
Clytostoma callistegioides
Common Violet Trumpet Vine
Family: Bignoniaceae
Look For:
- a climbing vine,
- opposite, compound leaves, each consisting of two elliptic leaflets and a long, twisting tendril,
and - showy, violet-and-white, trumpet-shaped flowers that often appear in pairs.
Jacaranda mimosifolia
Common: Jacaranda
Family: Bignoniaceae
Look For:
- long, bipinnately compound leaves,
- flattened, round, “silver dollar” fruits that start green and dry to brown,
and - (if you’re lucky enough to see this tree at the right time) a beautiful display of bright purple flowers.
Macfadyena unguis-cati
Common: Yellow Trumpet Vine
Family: Bignoniaceae
Look For:
- a climbing vine with large, tubular yellow flowers,
- elongated green seed capsules that dry to brown and split apart to release papery samaras,
- composite leaves consists of two shiny leaflets with a tendril between them,
and - tendrils ending in three very sharp hooks, like the claws of a cat.
Ferocatctus spp.
Common: Barrel Cactus
Family: Cactaceae
Look For:
- a barrel-shaped cactus. (What else is there to say?)
Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei
Common: Bakersfield Cactus
Family: Cactaceae
Look For:
- a low-growing cactus (usually 6 to 12 inches high and 1 to 6 feet wide),
- flattened, obovate pads (stems),
- areoles with both spines and glochids,
and - showy flowers with a pink to magenta perianth, many magenta-red filaments, a white or pink style, and a white stigma.
Opuntia ficus-indica
Common: Prickly Pear, Indian Fig
Family: Cactaceae
Look For:
- a tall cactus with flattened pads,
- dull, gray-green foliage (when mature),
and - yellow-orange flowers in late spring.
Schlumbergera truncata
Common: Crab Cactus
Family: Cactaceae
Look For:
- an epiphytic cactus
- leaves are flattened and look like the claws of a crab
Cistus ladanifer
Common: Crimson Spot Rock Rose
Family: Cistaceae
Look For:
- showy flowers with 5 white petals, each of which has a crimson spot at the base,
and - opposite leaves with smooth margins.
Cistus purpureus
Common: Orchid Rockrose
Family: Cistaceae
Look For:
- flowers have pink petals with a red spot at each petal base
- leaves are simple, opposite, dark green above, and gray beneath
Crassula ovata
Common: Jade Plant
Family: Crassulaceae
Look For:
- thick fleshy leaves the color of jade,
and - a woody trunk with a color and consistency not unlike an elongated potato.
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
Common: Flaming Katie
Family: Crassulaceae
Look For:
- wide, waxy leaves that are dark green and faintly red-edged,
- leaf margins that are smooth or slightly lobed,
and - small red, white, or pink flowers.
Sedum acre
Common: Gold Moss Sedum
Family: Crassulaceae
Look For:
- a succulent ground cover,
- light green leaves about one centimeter long,
and - clustered yellow flowers appearing in late spring to early summer.
Sedum morganianum
Common: Donkey Tail
Family: Crassulaceae
Look For:
- a pendulous plant with gray-green foliage,
- fleshy, cylindrical leaves with tips that point toward the end of the stem,
and - bright red flowers (if you’re lucky enough to see it in bloom).
Bletilla striata
Common: Chinese Ground Orchid
Family: Orchidaceae
Look For:
- 3 to 6 eliptic, basal leaves with prominent parallel veins,
and - (in the springtime) purple flowers with showy ruffles.
